In preparation for the relocation to the new state-of-the-art museum facility, the old museum will be closing the doors to the World War II Quonset huts that it has called home since 1956 on September 30, 2010.

A display chronicling the history of the Seabees and Civil Engineer Corps since 1942 will… remain open Monday through Friday from 1000 – 1400. In addition, the museum store will remain will open for limited hours (Monday through Friday from 1000 – 1400) in order to provide service to Seabees and their families with base access. For more information about the museum store, including their on-line catalog, visit their website at www.seabeemuseumstore.org.

In an effort to share the excitement about the new building, the museum will open the new facility to the public three times a month. Beginning October 5, 2010, the new museum will be open the first and third Tuesday and first Saturday of each month from 1000 to 1400. These open house opportunities will provide visitors with a “sneak peek” of the new building and will give them a chance to see “behind-the-scenes” of a museum. Museum staff will be available to give tours and the museum store will be open.

During the first part of the two-week project, UAB’s team of underwater archaeologists, in cooperation with MD SHA and MHT, measured the site and extent of the wreck beneath the sediment via a process called “hydroprobing.” Based on the data from the hydroprobe, the team was then able to determine which parts of the wreck most warranted investigation. Archaeologists then removed the overburden (overlying sediment) from specific parts of the wreck using dredge systems; the sediment pulled from the wreck was suctioned up the dredge onto the barges where it was screened by capable staff. Some artifacts were also recovered and brought back to the UAB Conservation and Archaeology Lab for stabilization, treatment and documentation.

Again, the UA team is very grateful to MD SHA and MHT as well as URS and SUPSALV. With their help and cooperation, significant progress was made during Phase 1 and we look forward to working with them again on the next phase of the SCORPION project in summer 2011. We’re always glad to talk about the SCORPION project and answer any questions, so feel free to stop by our offices or send us an email (NHHCUnderwaterArchaeology@navy.mil) and stay tuned for more posts!

It’s been sixty-five years since J.T. Platt last boarded the USS Orleck. “I was one of the grunts. I did what I was told,” said Platt, who worked at Consolidated Steel Corporation, the group that built the Orleck starting in 1944. Platt worked at the company in Orange, Texas from 1944 to 1945.

He left Consolidated Steel two months after the Orleck was commissioned. Platt was part of the original group from Consolidated Steel, responsible for making sure all of the equipment on board the Orleck was in working order. Platt was also in charge of making sure all of the ship’s wires were working properly…

Click here to read the rest of the story. For a brief history of the USS Orleck as well as background information on her namesake, please click here.

To plan a visit to the USS Orleck Naval Memorial in Lake Charles, Louisiana, click here.

Tim Younkman of the Bay City Times writes, “The battle continues to bring the Vietnam-era destroyer USS Edson to the Bay City riverfront. Volunteers and maritime enthusiasts have worked for 13 years to secure a 20th century combat ship as a Bay City attraction. Their efforts paid off when the U.S. Navy granted ownership of the 56-year-old Edson, now in mothballs, to the Saginaw Valley Navel Ship Museum.”

Last week, the ranks of the Naval History blogosphere increased by one with the arrival of the Naval War College Museum Blog! The Naval War College is one of the Naval History & Heritage Command’s official U.S. Navy Museums. Recommend you book mark the site or add them to your reader. The purpose of the blog “will be to engage our community with relevant information on museum activities. Readers may look forward to artifact research blogs, education program articles, staff and volunteer profiles, historical essays, and more.”

We look forward to cooperating with them in the naval history blogosphere! Welcome aboard!